A recent NGO report says the global recession increased the incidence of child labor around the world.
Perhaps that's not surprising. But it got us wondering, why doesn't the U.S. have child labor anymore?
The answer may seem obvious — we're too wealthy for that kind of thing.
That's mostly true.
But a landmark survey of child labor studies by Dartmouth economics professor Eric V. Edmonds paints a much more nuanced portrait of the situation.
We picked through Edmonds' research to explain the absence and presence of child labor in a given country, and how the U.S. finally came to outgrow the phenomenon.
We've illustrated the story using snapshots taken by Lewis Hine, an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), who sought to portray working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924.
In addition to being a fascinating bit of US economic history, it's also incredibly important for countries today that are dealing with the same issue.
There have been a lot of misconceptions about child labor in the U.S.
Vance, a Trapper Boy, 15 years old. "Has trapped for several years in a West Va. Coal mine. $.75 a day for 10 hours work. All he does is to open and shut this door: most of the time he sits here idle, waiting for the cars to come. On account of the intense darkness in the mine, the hieroglyphics on the door were not visible until plate was developed." 1908, West Virginia.
Source: Library of Congress/flickr
The first is that it did not go away after child labor laws were passed.
Glass workers at midnight, 1908, Indiana.
Source: Library of Congress
Attempts to pass federal child labor laws were actually struck down by the Supreme Court.
"Part of a group of itinerant cotton pickers leaving a farm at which they had finished picking a bale and a half a day. They live in these wagons. Note how many children - all pick except the baby in arms. The four year old picks fifteen pounds a day regularly. Seven year old boy picks fifty pounds a day." 1913, Texas.
Source: Library of Congress
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.